IPL 2023 Auction: "If you are not going to use someone at 9 crore, you put him back into the auction" - Tom Moody on whether PBKS should retain Shahrukh Khan

Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody feels the Punjab Kings (PBKS) should put Shahrukh Khan back into the auction and buy him back at a lesser price if possible.

Shahrukh was bought by the Mohali-based franchise for ₹9 crore at the IPL 2022 auction. The Tamil Nadu batter managed only 117 runs at a dismal average of 16.71 and an equally poor strike rate of 108.33 in the eight games he played.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Moody was asked whether PBKS should retain Shahrukh and Mayank Agarwal. He responded:

"When it comes to Shahrukh, personally, nine crores, far too many crores. If you are not going to use someone at nine crores and he is sitting on the bench, he is in and out of your side, you don't back him, you put him back into the auction."

Moody feels the franchise could consider buying back the big-hitting batter at a cheaper price. He observed:

"I will be putting him back. If I can bring him back into the squad between five and six crores, that range, definitely bring him back. It's a very fine balance. It's really down to supply and demand the way I see it."

Harbhajan Singh also concurred with Moody. The former off-spinner pointed out that nine crores cannot be spent on a player who is not a regular member of the playing XI.

---

"It's a no-brainer" - Tom Moody feels PBKS should retain Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal has been replaced by Shikhar Dhawan as the PBKS skipper.

On the flip side, Moody opined that PBKS should retain Mayank. He elaborated:

"When you talk about Mayank, it's a no-brainer. You have to retain him. The challenge for Punjab is how they fit him in their batting order because of how they stack up with Shikhar Dhawan there at the top, you have got Bairstow at the top."

However, the former SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach feels the IPL 2014 finalists might have to alter their batting order to accommodate Mayank. He explained:

"Mayank was selfless with his captaincy. He moved down the order which is not his position. So their strategy is how we are going to remix our top order, how does that look with Mayank as part of our playing XI."

Mayank endured a dismal IPL 2022 campaign for the Punjab Kings. The opening batter scored 196 runs in 13 matches at a lowly average of 16.33 and even had to push himself down the order to make way for Jonny Bairstow as an opener.